ABSTRACT
Destruction of cultural property takes different forms. In Sri Lanka we suffered one of the worst destructions of cultural property the country has experienced shortly before the WAC Inter-Congress on The Destruction and Conservation of Cultural Property. Bombing of the Temple of the Tooth Relic (a World Heritage Site) was intended to provoke tension between two ethnic groups as part of an ongoing war. We are presently also faced with numerous problems caused by vandals who destroy our ancient cultural objects for the purpose of stealing valuables that they believe to be deposited in religious places. Quite apart from all this, the repairs made to religious places to cater for the needs of modern-day worshippers are, in the opinion of professionals, another form of destruction. As professionals engaged in conservation, we have to intervene with the religious communities and arrive at compromise solutions for the restoration of religious monuments and objects. Conservation is also criticized by certain sections of the profession and the public, who call it destruction. Restoration, although very much in the vocabulary of the conservation professionals, should be attempted carefully. Archaeologists are vehemently ‘opposed’ to restoration as it could destroy the documentary value of the monuments.
